A new book by the Milton Keynes-based Chief Executive of the Badger Trust lays bare the persecution of one of our most beautiful animals.
The badger is being blamed for spreading tuberculosis among cattle, and last week the government approved an extended cull.
In reality, the animals - a protected species - are another victim of the intensive livestock industry, and they’ve faced persecution for the past four decades.
Badgered to Death, written by wildlife protection campaigner Dominic Dyer explains how the animals have been demonised and persecuted.
The book foreword is courtesy of BBC TV presenter Chris Packham. He says the animals have been ‘targeted by a smear campaign which has been swallowed by the gullible and fuelled by those with vested interests…how fickle, how vicious, how predictably human.’
Packham says the cull is ‘deeply divisive and immensely destructive’, and is the result of ‘the abuse of scientific truths.’
“I decided to write the book over a year ago,” Dominic says, “It came about as a result of a discussion I had with Chris when we both spoke at a wildlife crime conference.
“He told me I must write a book to provide a wider audience with my insight into the people and politics behind the badger cull policy.”
A little more than 12 months on, and Badgered to Death is doing precisely that.
It ditches fiction in favour of fact and is an essential read.
Those responsible for the cull will say that death is swift for the badger, but frequently that isn’t the case: “We know from the independent monitoring panel from the first year of the cull in 2013 that many badgers suffered long agonising deaths as a result of blood loss and organ failure.
“It’s very difficult to hit a muscular low squat animal like a badger at night with a single shot and kill it immediately, and many take a number of shots before they die.”
The cull isn’t working, because the badger isn’t the real problem, of course.
But the government has spent an incredible amount of money as they forge ahead with the ‘work’ - to date they have spent in the region of £25 million and killed a little less than 4000 badgers - that’s a cost of more than £5000 per animal, making it the most expensive wildlife cull on record.
Dominic won’t stop until the killing stops.
He’s not alone either; outspoken supporters like fellow animal rights advocate, Queen guitarist Brian May are helping to raise the profile.
More than 50 Badger Trust Groups are active across the country too, with many thousands of members spreading truth where there is ignorance, and working on the ground: “They carry out important work rescuing injured badgers, preventing illegal badger persecution and dealing with building developments that might impact on badger setts,” Dominic says.
“This is a long battle and we are up against the might of the government, farming and the veterinary industry,” Dominic adds, “But we are winning the arguments against culling on scientific, cost and humaneness grounds.
“I trust the book will be another nail in the coffin of this cruel policy.”
To find out how you can support the Badger Trust and help to stop the slaughter visit www.badger.org.uk
Badgered to Death is out now.
